OUR OWN COUNTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 26, 1 February 1926, Page 5

OUR OWN COUNTRY.

SOME RARE PACTS.

RELATED TO ROTARIANS.

At the Rotary Club to-day the speaker of the day was Mr. Tano Fama, I who is in charge of the new film "New ■ Zealand,' , to be screened in Auckland shortly. Mr. Fama chose as his subject, "Rare. Facts about New Zealand," and in a brief half hour enlightened most oi his hearers in regard to matters of interest concerning their own country. Touching upon the geological aspect the speaker referred to the glacial period when New Zealand was part of the great ! Australian Continent. The temperature had at some later period been quite tropical for in Oainaru stone was evidence of the coral reefs that had at one time encircled this country, whilst i fossil remains of coconuts and other tropical fruit had been found. A3 cvii dence of early navigation in the 15th ; century by Spanish explorers he ! mentioned the finding of a Spanish ! helmet in the Wellington harbour. J How close New Zealand was to becoming j a Dutch colony was Illustrated in the ■ graphic incidents connected with the ! presence at Golden Bay in 1(542 of two : Dutch boats, the Heemskirk and the j Zeehaan. Through some misunderstandi ing the Maoris had been antagonised and adopted a hostile attitude. As a consequence Tasman's followers had a dispute over the proposal to land, and after four participants had been killed the party decided to sail away. When Captain Cook came he was, thanks to the foresight of Sir James Banks, better equipped, for he brought with him from Tahiti one Tv Paea, who acted as interpreter. Invading the realms of the i forest, Mr. Fama dealt with the giant I kauri which, he said, dated back 3700 years, whilst we also had as our smallest I pine one whose normal growth was only I!) inches.

New Zealand had once harboured the largest eagle in the world, known as Harpagornis, which lived on young moas, and another ancient denizen was a gigantic flying lizard 30 feet in length. A curious natural study was provided by the petrel and the tuatara lizard which shared the same home, and it was thought by some that the bird fed the lizard. A peculiarity of our native insects was that, like our birds, many had become wingless. An instance waa that known as the "walking stick" which in other countries could fly. The katipo spider did not discharge poieon from a sac, but it fed on refuse and decayed matter, and for this reason its bite was poisonous. This country also possessed a fish which lived in the ground, but never saw water. Its eyes had become obsolete. It lived in deep clay or thick mud, and was often found where rivers overflow their banks.

! The speaker also dealt interestingly with the ancient habits of the Maoris. "Long before Europeans came," he said, "they had their own assortment of games, which included kite flying, etiltwalking, rope-skipping, and even a form of draughts. - '